The Jungle Book (2016)
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An orphaned boy raised by wolves must navigate the dangers of the jungle while evading a murderous tiger.
The story
In the jungles of 1890s India, an orphaned boy named Mowgli lives among a pack of wolves led by Akela. During the dry season, the jungle animals gather to drink the remaining water, but the gathering is disrupted by Shere Khan, a murderous Bengal tiger who threatens to kill Mowgli. After the drought ends, the wolves debate whether to keep the boy. Mowgli decides to leave the jungle for the safety of his family, and Bagheera, a black panther, volunteers to guide him to the nearby 'man-village'. However, the journey is fraught with danger as they are pursued by the tiger.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the jungles of 1890s India, an orphaned boy named Mowgli is raised by a wolf pack. When the murderous tiger Shere Khan threatens his life, Mowgli's guardians, Bagheera and Baloo, help him navigate the jungle. Along the way, Mowgli encounters the python Kaa and is captured by a group of monkeys led by the deranged King Louie. After learning of the death of the wolf leader Akela, Mowgli confronts Shere Khan directly. He sets off a massive fire in the jungle to create a distraction. During the chaos, Mowgli lures Shere Khan onto a branch that snaps, causing the tiger to fall into the flames and perish. In the aftermath, Mowgli decides to remain in the jungle as his true home, staying under the protection of Baloo and Bagheera.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jon Favreau
- Writers
- Justin Marks · writer
- Cast and characters
- Neel Sethi · Mowgli; Bill Murray · Baloo; Ben Kingsley · Bagheera; Idris Elba · Shere Khan; Lupita Nyong'o · Raksha; Scarlett Johansson · Kaa; Giancarlo Esposito · Akela; Christopher Walken · King Louie
- Genres
- fantasy; adventure; drama
- Themes
- identity; survival; family
- Tone and mood
- adventurous; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- animal_adventure; coming_of_age; fantasy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Rudyard Kipling's story collection of the same name
- Franchise connections
- The Jungle Book
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, praised for its visual effects and performances, though some critics noted inconsistent tones.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · scale: percentage · review count: 329; Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 49; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 92% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The film was shot entirely on sound stages in Los Angeles.; The production used approximately 1,000 remote jungle locations in India as reference.; The film's visual effects were compared to those of Avatar, Gravity, Hugo, and Life of Pi.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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